Summary

During the commemorative dinner, a woman wails from within the compound, and a girl rushes into the room, shouting that Mama Wéwé, the White One, will not eat. Mama Wéwé's real name is Mademoiselle Eugenia da Silva and she is the ancient daughter of Dom Francisco and the family's proof that their ancestor was white. Dressed in black, Mama Wéwé lies on a carved couch of jacaranda wood, looking like a breathing skeleton. She is about to die and the other Da Silvas are amazed at this prospect. More than twenty years earlier, on her hundredth birthday, she had pointed at her relatives, said, "Remember you are Brazilians!" and never spoke again. One of the Founder's four surviving grandchildren on the day of this commemorative feast once tried to get Mama Wéwé to tell what happened to Dom Francisco's fortune, but she...